Watch a baby between six and nine months old,and you will observe the basic idea of geometry（几何学）being learned.Once the baby has mastered the idea that space is three dimensional（空间的）,it reaches out and begins grasping various things,that the ideas of sets and numbers are formed.So far,so good.But now an ominous development takes place.The nerver fibers in the brain separate themselves in such a way that the baby begins to hear sounds very exactly.Soon it picks up language.And it is then brought into direct communication with grown-ups.From this point on,it is usually downhill all the way for mathematics,because the child now becomes exposed to all the rubbish words and beliefs of the born.Nature,having done very well by the child to this point,having permitted it the luxury（奢侈）of thinking for itself for eighteen months,now gives it up to the unreasonable conventions（惯例）and beliefs of society.But at least the child knows something of geometry and peaceful days,no matter what vicissitudes（兴衰变迁）it may suffer later on.The main reservoir of mathematical ability in any society is thus possessed by children who are about two years old,children who have just learned to speak freely.What does the passage mainly discuss?
| A．The impact（影响）of language on mathematics. |
| B．Children’s ability to learn languages. |
| C．How basic ideas of physics are learned? |
| D．Maths-learning strategies（策略）for babies. |
According to the passage,which of the following activities would teach a baby about geometry?
| A．Picking up a wooden block. | B．Recognizing the number 2. |
| C．Saying a rubbish word. | D．Looking at a distant word. |
Which of the following conclusions is true according to the writer?
| A．The language ideas used in early education interrupt mathematical reasoning. |
| B．It is hopeless to try to teach children mathematics after the age of two. |
| C．Language teaching should join some mathematical formulas（公式）. |
| D．Preschool education should emphasize society’s beliefs and conventions. |
When Mary Moore began her high school in 1951, her mother told her, "Be sure and take a typing course so when this show business thing doesn't work out, you'll have something to rely on." Mary responded in typical teenage fashion. From that moment on, "The very last thing I ever thought about doing was taking a typing course," she recalls.
The show business thing worked out, of course. In her career, Mary won many awards. Only recently, when she began to write Growing Up Again, did she regret ignoring her mom," I don't know how to use a computer," she admits.
Unlike her 1995 autobiography, After All, her second book is less about life as an award-winning actress and more about living with diabetes (糖尿病). All the money from the book is intended for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), an organization she serves as international chairman. "I felt there was a need for a book like this," she says." I didn't want to lecture, but I wanted other diabetics to know that things get better when we're self-controlled and do our part in managing the disease."
But she hasn't always practiced what she teaches. In her book, she describes that awful day, almost 40 years ago, when she received two pieces of life-changing news. First, she had lost the baby she was carrying, and second, tests showed that she had diabetes. In a childlike act, she left the hospital and treated herself to a box of doughnuts (甜甜圈). Years would pass before she realized she had to grow up again and take control of her diabetes, not let it control her. Only then did she kick her three-pack-a-day cigarette habit, overcome her addiction to alcohol, and begin to follow a balanced diet.
Although her disease has affected her eyesight and forced her to the sidelines of the dance floor, she refuses to fall into self-pity. "Everybody on earth can ask, 'why me?' about something or other," she insists. "It doesn't do any good. No one is immune (免疫的) to heartache, pain, and disappointments. Sometimes we can make things better by helping others. I've come to realize the importance of that as I've grown up this second time. I want to speak out and be as helpful as I can be."Why did Mary feel regretful?
| A．She didn't achieve her ambition. |
| B．She didn't follow her mother's advice. |
| C．She didn't complete her high school. |
| D．She didn't take care of her mother. |
We can know that before 1995 Mary
| A．had two books published |
| B．received many career awards |
| C．knew how to use a computer |
| D．supported the JDRF by writing |
Mary's second book Growing Up Again is mainly about her .
| A．living with diabetes |
| B．successful show business |
| C．service for an organization |
| D．remembrance of her mother |
When Mary received the life-changing news, she .
| A．lost control of herself | B．began a balanced diet |
| C．tried to get a treatment | D．behaved in an adult way |
What can we know from the last paragraph?
| A．Mary feels pity for herself. |
| B．Mary has recovered from her disease. |
| C．Mary wants to help others as much as possible. |
| D．Mary determines to go back to the dance floor. |
I was going to die in Antarctica, I was certain．An image of my frost-covered body, pale and lifeless, filled my mind as I glanced around．In all directions the empty wilderness of Antarctica stretched away from me, the only feature on the landscape was the division between snow and sky．I gazed sadly at my team．They were rapidly disappearing over the horizon．
I was leading an expedition （探险） attempting to reach the south pole．The team was made up of ordinary women from all around the world, from Jamaica, India, Singapore and Cyprus, many of whom had never seen snow, or spent a night in a tent before we set off．Our aim was to be the most international all-female team to reach the South Pole．
As I watched, the rest of the team marched on, unaware that I was not with them．By the time I realized that my sledge was firmly trapped, the team were already a long way ahead of me．I called out to Era, my teammate, " Era! Stop !"
Getting no response I called again, but my shouts were carried away in the opposite direction by the wind．Seconds passed．Nothing．I was gradually being left alone, completely defenseless against the low temperatures of Antarctica．
My strength increased when I thought of a cold lonely death．I pulled again my sledge, which moved a little. I removed the ice with my ski-pole and boot, desperately trying to break the sledge free．The sledge shot forward, knocking me off balance．I struggled to my feet and set off after the team．
I caught up just as Reena, my teammate from India, looked behind her and noticed there was one person missing．She swung around on her skis in shock and spotted me in the near distance．
As we continued, my panic slowly faded．For the rest of the day, each of the team was glancing over their shoulder every few minutes．They were not going to risk losing me again．From the first paragraph we can safely infer that the author ．
| A．disliked her team | B．got seriously ill |
| C．was in panic | D．lost her way |
What is special about the expedition team?
| A．They were all female． |
| B． They were all professional． |
| C．They made the longest expedition． |
| D．They had been strictly trained． |
What made the author get her sledge out of the ice was ．
| A．the shouts from her teammates |
| B．her strong desire to live |
| C．the sudden change in wind direction |
| D．the natural beauty ahead |
At last, each of the team members kept looking back ．
| A．to avoid being attacked from behind |
| B．to make sure that none fell behind |
| C．to check the distance they had covered |
| D．to keep a record of the route they took |
Which may be the best title of the passage?
| A．How to survive in Antarctic． |
| B．A mysterious trip to the South Pole． |
| C．A female expedition team． |
| D．Being left behind in the snow． |
BELJLNG — Eating at a Beijing restaurant is usually an adventure for foreigners, and particularly when they get the chance to order “chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head”.
Sometimes excited but mostly confused, embarrassed or even terrified, many foreigners have long complained about mistranslations of Chinese dishes. And their complaints are often valid, but such an experience at Beijing’s restaurants will apparently soon be history.
Foreign visitors will no longer, hopefully, be confused by oddly worded restaurant menus in the capital if the government’s plan to correctly translate 3,000 Chinese dishes is a success and the translations are generally adopted.
The municipal（市政）office of foreign affairs has published a book to recommend English translations of Chinese dishes, which aims to help restaurants avoid bizarre translations. It provides the names of main dishes of famous Chinese cuisines in plain English, “an official with the city’s Foreign Affairs office said .” Restaurants are encouraged to use the proposed translations, but it will not be compulsory .“ It’s the city’s latest effort to bridge the culture gap for foreign travelers in China.
Coming up with precise translations is a daunting task, as some Chinese culinary（烹饪的）techniques are untranslatable and many Chinese dishes have no English-language equivalent. The translators, after conducting a study of Chinese restaurants in English-speaking countries, divided the dish names into four categories: ingredients, cooking method, taste and name of a person or a place. For some traditional dishes, pinyin, the Chinese phonetic system, is used, such as mapo tofu (previously often literally translated as “beancurd made by woman with freckles”), baozi (steamed stuffed bun ) and jiaozi (dumplings) to “reflect the Chinese cuisine culture,” according to the book.
“The book is a blessing to tourist guides like me. Having it, I don’t have to rack my brains trying to explain Chinese dishes to foreign travellers,” said Zheng Xiaodong, a 31- year – old employee with a Beijing-based travel agency.
“I will buy the book as I major in English literature and I’d like to introduce Chinese cuisine culture to more foreign friends,” said Han Yang, a postgraduate student at the University of International Business and Economics.
It is not clear if the book will be introduced to other parts of China. But on Tuesday, this was the most discussed topic on weibo.com, China’s most popular microblogging site.What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．An adventure for foreigners who eat in Beijing. |
| B．Confusing mistranslations of Chinese dishes |
| C．Chinese dishes to have “official” English names |
| D．The effort to bridge the culture gap |
“chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head” are mentioned in the beginning of the passage to show__________.
| A．some Chinese dishes are not well received |
| B．some Chinese dishes are hard to translate |
| C．some Chinese dishes are mistranslated |
| D．some Chinese dishes are not acceptable |
What measure has the municipal office taken?
| A．Recommending a book on Chinese dishes |
| B．Advocating using precise translation for Chinese dishes |
| C．Publishing a book on China’s dietary habits |
| D．Providing the names of main Chinese dishes |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “daunting” in paragraph 5?
| A．discouraging | B．disappointing |
| C．confusing | D．worthwhile |
What’s the attitude of most people to the book according to the passage?
| A．not clear | B．excited |
| C．favorable | D．divided |
It was Saturday. As always, it was a busy one, for "Six days shall you labor and do all your work" was taken seriously back then. Outside, Father and Mr. Patrick next door were busy chopping firewood. Inside their own houses, Mother and Mrs. Patrick were engaged in spring cleaning. Somehow the boys had slipped away to the back lot with their kites. Now, even at the risk of having Brother caught to beat carpets, they had sent him to the kitchen for more string(线). It seemed there was no limit to the heights to which kites would fly today.
My mother looked at the sitting room, its furniture disordered for a thorough sweeping. Again she cast a look toward the window. "Come on, girls! Let's take string to the boys and watch them fly the kites a minute."
On the way we met Mrs. Patrick, laughing guiltily as if she were doing something wrong, together with her girls.
There never was such a day for flying kites! We played all our fresh string into the boys' kites and they went up higher and higher. We could hardly distinguish the orange-colored spots of the kites. Now and then we slowly pulled one kite back, watching it dancing up and down in the wind, and finally bringing it down to earth, just for the joy of sending it up again.
Even our fathers dropped their tools and joined us. Our mothers took their turn, laughing like schoolgirls. I think we were all beside ourselves. Parents forgot their duty and their dignity; children forgot their everyday fights and little jealousies. "Perhaps it's like this in the kingdom of heaven," I thought confusedly.
It was growing dark before we all walked sleepily back to the house. I suppose we had some sort of supper. I suppose there must have been surface tidying-up, for the house on Sunday looked clean and orderly enough. The strange thing was, we didn't mention that day afterward. I felt a little embarrassed. Surely none of the others had been as excited as I. I locked the memory up in that deepest part of me where we keep "the things that cannot be and yet they are."
The years went on, then one day I was hurrying about my kitchen in a city apartment, trying to get some work out of the way while my three-year-old insistently cried her desire to "go park, see duck."
"I can't go!" I said. "I have this and this to do, and when I'm through I'll be too tired to walk that far."
My mother, who was visiting us, looked up from the peas she was shelling（去皮）. "It's a wonderful day," she offered, "really warm, yet there's a fine breeze. Do you remember that day we flew kites?"
I stopped in my dash between stove and sink. The locked door flew open and with it a rush of memories. "Come on," I told my little girl. "You're right, it's too good a day to miss."
Another decade passed. We were in the aftermath (余波) of a great war. All evening we had been asking our returned soldier, the youngest Patrick Boy, about his experiences as a prisoner of war. He had talked freely, but now for a long time he had been silent. What was he thinking of — what dark and horrible things?
"Say!" A smile sipped out from his lips. "Do you remember — no, of course you wouldn't. It probably didn't make the impression on you as it did on me."
I hardly dared speak. "Remember what?"
"I used to think of that day a lot in POW camp (战俘营), when things weren't too good. Do you remember the day we flew the kites?"Mrs. Patrick was laughing guiltily because she thought_________.
| A．she was too old to fly kites |
| B．she should have been doing her housework then |
| C．her husband would make fun of her |
| D．her girls weren’t supposed to play the boy’s game |
By "we were all beside ourselves," the writer means that they all _________.
| A．felt confused | B．looked on |
| C．went wild with joy | D．forgot their fights |
What did the writer think after the kite-flying?
| A．The boys must have had more fun than the girls. |
| B．All the others must have forgotten that day. |
| C．Her parents should spend more time with them. |
| D．They should have finished their work before playing. |
Why did the writer finally agree to take her little girl for an outing?
| A．She suddenly remembered her duty as a mother. |
| B．She thought it was a great day to play outside. |
| C．She had finished her work in the kitchen. |
| D．She was reminded of the day they flew kites. |
The youngest Patrick boy is mentioned to show that _________.
| A．the writer was not alone in treasuring her fond memories |
| B．his experience in POW camp threw a shadow over his life |
| C．childhood friendship means so much to the writer |
| D．people like him really changed a lot after the war |
When I was ten my dad helped me buy my first ten-speed bicycle from Allen. I put up $60 of my grass cutting and snow shoveling (铲) money and my dad put up the other half I would pay him back over the next six months. Although it was not in the latest style, it was my ticket to the adult world.
I spent that summer and autumn riding happily. My sister Liz, a prisoner of her five-speed bicycle, never had a chance to keep up. Just before the Christmas deadline to pay my dad back, we were hit with several snowstorms. This allowed me to shovel enough driveways (车道) to pay off my debt. I was now officially a bike owner; it was a feeling unlike any other.
On that Christmas morning, my dad gave me a used portable (便携式的) record player. I was excited. However, my joy was short-lived after my dad called my sister to the kitchen. “We have one more gift for you.” he said as he opened the door that led to the garage. There, on the steps, stood a new ten-speed bicycle.
“It’s not fair,” I complained. “I worked so hard for my bike and it’s not even new. Then Liz gets a new bike. She didn’t have to do anything for it. ” My dad smiled. “She didn’t have to do anything for it because it’ s not really for her,” he said. What did that mean? I didn’t want her bike.
By spring Liz and I were riding all over town together now that she could keep up. As we grew, Liz and I became true friends.
Still I wasn’t smart enough to figure out what my dad meant until years later. That new bike was not a gift for Liz — it was a gift for me. He’d given me the gift of my sister’s company, the ability to stay together rather than drift apart (逐渐疏远) in the face of my ability to travel. He gave me my best friend.What do we know about the author’s bike?
| A．It was worth $120. |
| B．Allen bought it for him. |
| C．It was very fashionable. |
| D．He didn’t like it actually. |
Why did the author think he was officially a bike owner?
| A．He had paid off his debt. |
| B．He had learned to ride a bike. |
| C．He could also own Liz’s bike. |
| D．He could sell his bike to Liz. |
Why was the author’s Christmas joy short-lived?
| A．His sister got a new record player. |
| B．His father didn’t care about him. |
| C．The record player wasn’t new. |
| D．His sister got a better gift. |
Hearing his father say “it’s not really for her (Paragraph 4)”, the author probably felt ________.
| A．moved | B．satisfied |
| C．puzzled | D．disappointed |
The author finally realized that ________.
| A．the new bike actually belonged to him |
| B．the new bike wasn’t bought by his father |
| C．his father actually gave him a more valuable gift |
| D．his father loved his sister more as a matter of fact |
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